omnibus

1 of 2

noun

om·ni·bus ˈäm-ni-(ˌ)bəs

Synonyms of omnibus next

: a usually automotive public vehicle designed to carry a large number of passengers : bus

took a seat on the omnibus

: a book containing reprints of a number of works (as of a single author or on a single subject)

The omnibus contained all of the author's short stories.

omnibus

2 of 2

adjective

: of, relating to, or providing for many things at once

: containing or including many items

an omnibus bill

Did you know?

The adjective omnibus may not have much to do with public transportation, but the noun omnibus certainly does—it not only means "bus," but it's also the word English speakers shortened to form bus. The noun omnibus originated in the 1820s as a French word for long, horse-drawn vehicles that transported people along the main thoroughfares of Paris. Shortly thereafter, omnibuses—and the noun omnibus—arrived in New York. But in Latin, omnibus simply means "for all." Our adjective omnibus, which arrived in the mid-1800s, seems to hark back to that Latin omnibus, though it may also have been at least partially influenced by the English noun. An "omnibus bill" containing numerous provisions, for example, could be likened to a bus loaded with people.

Examples of omnibus in a Sentence

Adjective an omnibus edition of his more popular stories the president's state of the union speech is usually an omnibus look at the issues that the country is confronting

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

That is intended to give the House and Senate time to pass and negotiate full-year spending bills — though the two chambers are nowhere near an agreement on those — and avoid a massive year-end spending bill called an omnibus. —

Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 15 Nov. 2023 The senators, led by Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), warned Schumer not to let the chamber get distracted, which could lead to a pileup of bills that ultimately end in a December omnibus. —

Misty Severi, Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2023 The education omnibus bill known as the LEARNS Act, signed in March, includes codification of the executive order. —

Josh Snyder, Arkansas Online, 10 Sep. 2023 The 145-page omnibus LEARNS Act is Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' signature piece of legislation. —

Cynthia Howell, Arkansas Online, 18 Aug. 2023 Whether the film is a narrative movie or an omnibus of connected music videos remains to be explained, too, although the long list of directors would point toward the latter. —

Chris Willman, Variety, 25 July 2023 Sewell, a Democrat who is in her seventh term representing Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, helped secure the funding for The Lovelady Center as part of the omnibus funding package for fiscal year 2023. —

Mike Cason | McAson@al.com, al, 25 Apr. 2023 The speaker told reporters he was encouraged by the Senate's decision to work through the bills one by one, a departure from years of top-down omnibuses passed in a hurry before the Christmas recess. —

David Sivak, Washington Examiner, 17 July 2023 The state’s respective congressional delegations held up the December omnibus spending bill, haggling over whether to include FBI selection language in the bill. —

Lateshia Beachum, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2023

Adjective

Representative Thomas Massie wants assurances from the GOP nominee that the party won’t vote on omnibus spending bills. —

Edith Olmsted, The New Republic, 13 Oct. 2023 Moderna has projected 2027 respiratory vaccine revenue of between $8 billion and $15 billion, a bullish forecast that will require the company to succeed with its omnibus vaccine. —

Damian Garde, STAT, 5 Oct. 2023 Ray Fielding’s The American Newsreel 1911-1967, published in 1972, remains the sole, go-to omnibus source. —

Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Sep. 2023 Now, the McCarthy strategy was to utilize omnibus bills, continuing resolutions, and to have one up-or-down vote on the funding of the entire government all at once. —

Nbc Universal, NBC News, 8 Oct. 2023 Since the mid-90s, this country has been governed by revolving continuous resolution and omnibus spending bill. —

ABC News, 1 Oct. 2023 Without such legislation on its own, activists and lobbyists are aiming to attach childcare funding to an omnibus bill—like 2024’s appropriations bill—before the end of the year. —

Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 26 Sep. 2023 House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) desires to pull Ukraine aid out of a government funding bill and advance it as stand-alone legislation, but Senate leaders are seeking to address the request in an omnibus bill ahead of the looming government shutdown deadline. —

Misty Severi, Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2023 In any case, before AHRC really got up and running, it was disbanded with an omnibus budget bill, following a Supreme Court ruling that found that parts of the federal law were stepping on provincial toes. —

Hazlitt, 30 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'omnibus.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.